THE EVENING started off with a pleasant "Good evening sir," from the 'gentleman' at the gate of The Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall hotel and, on arrival, each guest received a warm welcome.
This was how the first public function to be hosted by Jamaica's newest and most elaborate hotel began last Monday.
It was a reception for participants and specially invited guests in the Shell Wide World of Golf US$41.5 million tournament at the hotel's White Witch golf course.
Guests were invited to sip cocktails at the open bar overlooking the garden bordered by the sea and as Jamaica's top steel pan player, Cabot Paul, opened with Ben E. King's Spanish Harlem, canapés were served.
Among the special guests were Minister of Tourism Portia Simpson Miller; Agriculture Minister, Roger Clarke; Technology and Commerce Minister, Phillip Paulwell, and wife Kerry Ann; Mining and Energy Minister, Robert Pickersgill; former Mining Minister, Hugh Hart; NCB's group managing director, Dunbar McFarlane; executive chairman of the Urban Development Corporation, Vin Lawrence; chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board, Adrian Robinson; Opposition Spokesman on tourism, Edmund Bartlet; and Custos of St. James, Clarence Nelson.
Inside the grand ballroom, where a banquet awaited, were US Ambassador Stan McLelland; Michelle Rollins; country music legend, Johnny Cash, and June Carter Cash; a host of executives from Shell Oil, headed by president and chief executive officer, Steve Miller, along with the featured players in the tournament, Al Sutton and Notah Begay.
The Carl McLeod Quartet took over the entertainment for the banquet and gave a pleasing performance that included smooth renditions of favourite calypsos and folk songs.
In the months ahead, there is expected to be a beehive of activity at The Ritz, especially during the months of December and May, when more than 35,000 guests, mostly comprising incentive groups, have booked to stay at the 430-room hotel.
-- Clive Simpson
